Deepa Mehta is an Oscar-nominated, transnational filmmaker whose work is celebrated on an international scale. Her emotionally resonating, award-winning films have played at every major film festival, and many remain audience favourites.
She is best known for her Elemental Trilogy: Earth, Fire and Water. Water was an enormous success. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Annual Academy Awards, and has screened at festivals around the world, winning many awards, and remains an audience favourite. Other films include: Bollywood/Hollywood, Heaven on Earth, and the epic adaptation of Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie’s three-time Booker Prize-winning novel.
Deepa was born in India and received a degree in philosophy from the University of New Delhi before immigrating to Canada. She began her career making documentaries in India.
She has received numerous honorary degrees and many awards and honours, including the Woman of Distinction, the President’s Award from the YMCA, the Governor General’s Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award for Film and, in 2013, appointment as an officer to the Order of Canada for her work as a “groundbreaking screenwriter, director, and producer.” She is also a recipient of Ontario’s highest honour, the Order of Ontario.
